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The minnows haven't exactly covered themselves in glory so far in this World Cup, which those who are looking for an excuse to excise them from the 2015 tournament will use as grounds to support their argument. But there must be an upset brewing somewhere. Surely there must be. Netherlands v South Africa is unlikely to be the one, though, if the history of the two teams is any indication. They've met twice before, and South Africa have completed huge victories both times - a 221-run margin in the 2007 World Cup and a 160-run win back in 1996.

This World Cup has taught us two things about the Netherlands batting line-up. One is that they are capable of posting big totals, as they showed with a Ryan ten Doeschate-inspired 292 against England in their opening game in Nagpur. The second is that express pace bowling can be their downfall, as Kemar Roach's six-for demonstrated in their second game. And Dale Steyn qualifies as express, so they're in for a tough battle in Mohali.

South Africa will be aiming to notch up their second victory from two games, after they accounted for West Indies in their opening match on a slow surface in Delhi. There should be more pace in Mohali, which ought to suit an attack led by Steyn and Morne Morkel.

Tom Cooper was the one batsman who stood up against the pace of Roach on Monday. Although he was born and raised in Australia, Cooper qualifies to play for the Netherlands because his mother was born in Dutch New Guinea, which is now the Papua region of Indonesia. That European ancestry allowed him to play club cricket in Scotland as a non-overseas player, and it was there that he linked up with the Netherlands coach Peter Drinnen. An aggressive right-hander, Cooper is still trying to forge his first-class career with South Australia, but in the one-day format has been a revelation for the Netherlands, and how he handles quality bowlers like Steyn and Morne Morkel will go a long way to determining if his team can compete in this match.

Another man who is not representing the country of his birth is Imran Tahir, the Pakistan-born legspinner who has made South Africa home. He was impressive in his ODI debut, the World Cup win over West Indies a week ago, when he collected 4 for 41, and although he has battled a throat infection in the past few days he is expected to be fit to play. This tournament has been a long time coming for Tahir, who at 31 has been on the books at 16 different first-class sides throughout his career, from Pakistan to England to South Africa. Expect him to make the most of his opportunity.

Team news

There were a few gaps in the Dutch performance against West Indies, but the question is whether any of their backup players will add more to the side than if they were to again use the same starting XI.

South Africa had a few minor niggles to contend with during the week - Steyn (side), JP Duminy (back) and Tahir (throat infection) - but all three have recovered and should be available for selection. The main question is whether they will again choose three spinners - Tahir, Johan Botha and Robin Peterson - or opt for some extra pace, most likely from Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

The Mohali ground is gearing up for its first World Cup match of this tournament, and it could provide a little more pace than some of the other venues.

Stats and trivia

Ryan ten Doeschate is 20th on the ICC one-day international batting rankings list. He is the only Associate player in the top 40

Imran Tahir's 4 for 41 against West Indies was the fourth-best debut figures by a South African bowler on ODI debut, behind Allan Donald, Vernon Philander and Shaun Pollock

The Mohali ground has hosted one previous World Cup match, in 1996 when Australia beat West Indies by five runs in the semi-final

Quotes

"We are expecting a lot more pace and bounce from the wicket than was the case in Delhi. Conditions will be very different because it's a day match and dew will not play a role."Vincent Barnes, the South Africa assistant coach

"We certainly have more potential than what we showed against them [West Indies]."Peter Borren, the Netherlands captain

Some of the comments here were obviously made before Ireland's stunning victory yesterday. That notwithstanding, there will be no upset in this match. Tstotsobe for Peterson is the only likely change but it would be good to see Ingram or van Wyk get a run.

Posted by
Jatt
on (March 3, 2011, 1:15 GMT)

Welcome to Mohali. gud luck Holland. we are with u.

Posted by
Dummy4
on (March 2, 2011, 23:07 GMT)

Is this match the Dutch derby

Posted by
Dummy4
on (March 2, 2011, 22:00 GMT)

i hope steyn takes alot of wickets i have him captain for cricket fantasy!

Posted by
dave
on (March 2, 2011, 21:22 GMT)

your "minnows haven't covered themselves in glory" comment is shall we say a tich out of date. go treland!!!!!

Posted by
Harjinder
on (March 2, 2011, 19:48 GMT)

HI SA Fans ! GOD make the weather clear .This is a easy match for SA,they do want to share 2 points with DUTCH.This time no rain ..no rain

Posted by
Dummy4
on (March 2, 2011, 15:04 GMT)

well weather is biggest concern in mohali as its been raining there frm past 2 days n tommorows forecast is considered as rain.....

Posted by
Akshat
on (March 2, 2011, 14:58 GMT)

@Amol: I disagree with your last point.. I think SA should bat first if they win the toss and get their guys some good batting practice.. Smith, Amla and Kallis seemed to struggle a bit against the Windies so some batting practice against the minnows will do them some good. There is enough time between matches to recover their stamina in the group stage in any case. GO PROTEAS!!!

Posted by
John
on (March 2, 2011, 14:57 GMT)

The minnows have not shown any fight in this WC. This game, against a powerful SA will be no different.

Posted by
ntokozo
on (March 2, 2011, 14:54 GMT)

@Amol_Ind_SA, Well mate, your usually satisfactory analysis are seriously flawed this time, if not total rubbish. Firstly, the Indians, the "experts" in playing spin have serious flaws in their techniques against spin. Dude, Sachin struggles with left-armers, hence even an ordinary Harris has gotten the better of him before. S.A will have Peterson for one over just to knock him over. Dhoni and Yuvraj are almost walking wickets against spin. Its too early to tell with Kholi, but Sewagh and Gambir have both been dismissed by spin thus far in the tournament (Sewagh once & Gambir both times). Pathan also suffers the same fate, then the rest is the tail (which Steyn will clean up). In fact, Paul Harris took a truckload of wickets against the same "experts of playing spin". Maybe only the former Indian batsmen played spin well, but not this batch. Only Pakistan are really good players of spin in the subcontinent (look at Bhaji's records against them). They also tamed Murali in the 1st match.

Assistant Editor Possibly the only person to win a headline-writing award for a title with the word "heifers" in it, Brydon decided agricultural journalism wasn't for him when he took up his position with ESPNcricinfo in Melbourne. His cricketing career peaked with an unbeaten 85 in the seconds for a small team in rural Victoria on a day when they could not scrounge up 11 players and Brydon, tragically, ran out of partners to help him reach his century. He is also a compulsive TV game-show contestant and has appeared on half a dozen shows in Australia.